Oulu is a city of about 130,000 inhabitants in Oulu province, northern Finland.
Oulu is the capital of the province of Oulu and the region of Northern Ostrobothnia. It is the sixth largest (fourth largest if you exclude Espoo and Vantaa which are not actually cities but suburbs of Helsinki) city in Finland, and the largest and most important in Northern Finland. Oulu is known for its high-tech nature, with free wireless internet access, Panoulu in the city center. A lot of Finnish IT companies, including Nokia, have offices in Oulu or nearby areas.
PLACE TO VISIT
Oulu City Art Museum (Oulun Taidemuseo) Located within an easy walking distance from the city centre. Due to renovations, the museum is closed 11.6.2007 - 31.12.2008.
Science Centre Tietomaa (Tiedekeskus Tietomaa), Nahkatehtaankatu 2, . Mon-Sun 10–19. The world's first science centre. Unfortunately a 'social invention' such as a science centre wasn't to be patented and the idea was copied all over the world. €13 for single adult ticket, €10 for children aged 6-15.
Quite close to Raatti swimming hall are the remaining ruins of the Castle of Oulu. Their café, Linnankahvila is open daily during summertime. It lies on the remaining premises of the Castle of Oulu after the explosion of gunpowder deposit (by a bulb of lightning) in the 18th century.
WHAT TO DO
Oulu City Theatre (Oulun Kaupunginteatteri), Kaarlenväylä 2, Recently renovated theatre offers plays in Finnish. Prices vary from €15 to €40 for a single adult ticket. Significant (half price) discounts are available for people under 26.
Cinema Plaza (Elokuvateatteri Plaza), . Completed in 2007, Plaza movie theater features one of the biggest movie screens in Finland. Most of the movies shown on theater's eight screens are original english versions and are subtitled in Finnish and Swedish, though some children's movies are dubbed in Finnish. Admission €9-10, before 17:00 on weekdays €6.50. Ticket sets of 5 or 9 tickets are available, bringing the price per admission down to €8 or €7.67 respectively.
Rotuaari, from the french word trottoir, means pedestrian street, is a place for live entertainment mainly during summertime, but also at weekends all year round. For lovers of garlic and masquarade parties the annual Valkosipuliyö (Garlic Night) in the end of July is recommended and also happens on Rotuaari. Note: The festival will not be held in 2008, but is scheduled to return in 2009.
Qstock Rock Festival, late July.
International Air Guitar Festival , beginning of August.
Nallikari and its Eden sea resort. Summer visit is preferred, but you can bathe outside all year round in Eden's cozy temperature of +26°C. A bone-chilling dip in the freezing Oulu river can also be made in at the swimming spot (maauimala) of Tuira all year round.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Oulu Airport is the busiest in the country after Helsinki, and the Helsinki-Oulu sector is the country's most popular domestic flight with frequent services (almost 20 flights per day each way) on Finnair and Blue1. A fully flexible return economy ticket costs a whopping €251 but an advance-purchase non-changeable one-way ticket can go as low as €39 plus taxes. There are also some services to Riga, Rovaniemi, Tampere and Kemi.
Bus 19 (~€4) connects the airport to the city center in 30 minutes. Buses operate quite frequently from 06:25 to about 21:00 on weekdays. After 21:00 buses operate infrequently to 01:30. A taxi will cost you around €30 for the same distance. Bus 19 also takes you to the University of Oulu
By train - Oulu is on the railway main line between Helsinki and Rovaniemi. The fastest Pendolino trains complete the journey from Oulu to Helsinki in about 6 hours (€72), while direct sleepers take around 9 hours (€64 plus optional sleeper at €12-€31 per bed). The newest type of sleeper train carriages have a shower and a toilet in each 2-person cabin.
By bus - Trip duration from Helsinki varies between 9½ and 15 hours and costs around €70-80. Timetable and information from Matkahuolto
